CoinDCX sets up Rs 100 crore cyber safety fund days after owners' arrest in crypto fraud case

After founders Sumit Gupta and Neeraj Khandelwa landed in police custody in a mistaken crypto fraud case kinked to a fake website impersonating their platform, CoinDCX on Monday announced a Rs 100 crore fund towards Digital Suraksha Network (D.S.N.) to build the cyber safety infrastructure.

Both founders took to X and recounted that the fraud at the centre of this complaint was carried out through a fake website, 'coindcx.pro', by impersonators who have no connection to their platform, systems, or CoinDCX.

"No money moved through CoinDCX. No transaction occurred on our exchange. The complainant himself confirmed in court that he did not know us and had never met us," they said, adding their experience was deeply unsettling.

The founders mentioned that in 2025, Indians filed 28.15 lakh cybercrime complaints — a 24% spike over the previous year. Total financial losses were Rs 22,495 crore, and investment scams alone accounted for 76% of that money.

They said the Digital Suraksha Network is not about protecting one platform; it is about building the shared infrastructure between regulators, platforms, and citizens that prevents fraud from happening in the first place, which could protect every Indian who participates in digital finance.

"Over 100 million Indians use crypto. Most have never been told how a regulated platform actually works, what KYC means, what FIU registration ensures, or how to check whether a website is real. The Digital Suraksha Network will fund "Caution Before Transaction", a nationwide initiative to give every Indian the tools to participate in digital finance safely," both Gupta and Khandelwa said.

They will also be launching a 24x7 WhatsApp helpline, which will be free, open to everyone, not just CoinDCX users. In 21 months, CoinDCX has documented over 1,200 fraudulent websites impersonating their platform.

"We will build an open API that makes this fraud intelligence available in real time to law enforcement, financial platforms, telecom providers, and browser companies," they said, inviting every crypto exchange, fintech platform, bank, and digital lender in India to share the fraudulent/ namesake websites.

"The more platforms that participate, the faster scam operations get flagged and shut down," the founders added.

The exchange also called on SEBI, FIU-IND, and the Ministry of Finance to work with the industry on common cyber safety standards for all digital financial platforms in India.